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For the fifth installment of BRAINSLEEP LIFE, we interview Mr. Daisuke Matsuo, known as "Totono-e Oyakatasan" (Master of Relaxation), and Mr. Daisuke Akiyama, known as "Sauna Shisho" (Sauna Master). Together, they founded "TTNE," a brand specializing in sauna enthusiasts, and are both active as sauna producers.
Q: Please introduce yourselves.
Oyakatasan: I'm Totono-e Oyakatasan. I work as a sauna producer and handle all things sauna-related.
Shisho: I'm Sauna Shisho. Together with Totono-e Oyakatasan, I produce saunas and sell sauna equipment.
Q: How did you two meet?
Shisho: I've loved saunas since I was about 10, and I ended up turning many people into sauna enthusiasts in Tokyo. Then, a friend told me there was a famous pro-sauna enthusiast in "the North" and wanted to introduce me.
Oyakatasan: I was told there was a famous pro-sauna enthusiast in "the South," in Tokyo, and they wanted to introduce me!
Shisho: So, when I went to Sapporo, we had a sauna session together. At that time, we were just two older men, one from the North and one from Kanto, who loved saunas and were introduced by a friend.
Q: What led you to become sauna enthusiasts?
Oyakatasan: I simply loved saunas. Especially after a sauna, getting into a cold bath and exhaling felt amazing. I really loved that feeling.
Shisho: For me too, the cold bath was the best part at first! Also, when my autonomic nervous system broke down due to work, going to the sauna helped me sleep and improved my physical condition. So I realized saunas might be incredibly good for the body.
Q: Could you tell us about your daily routines?
Oyakatasan: I wake up early, around 4 AM. Then I have a morning sauna, and another sauna before dinner.
Shisho: I usually wake up between 6 and 6:30 AM, then have my first sauna from 7:30 to 8:00 AM. I go to work around 9:30 AM, work, and then have another sauna around 4 PM. After dinner, if I decide to go to the sauna again, it's around 9 PM. Then I go to bed around 10 or 11 PM. So, I get about 7 hours of sleep.
Q: Does sauna affect your sleep?
Oyakatasan: There's a huge difference between sleeping after a sauna and sleeping without one. In Finland, saunas are often called natural sleeping pills, and they really help you sleep.
Shisho: Even if I'm overthinking from work or too excited to sleep, I can fall asleep much faster after a sauna.
Q: Did you have any sleep-related problems?
Oyakatasan: Before discovering Brain Sleep, I often had trouble sleeping because my pillow would get hot.
Shisho: I'd wake up many times in the middle of the night because of the heat. Not to go to the bathroom, just waking up, and my sleep felt shallow...
Oyakatasan: I'd flip my pillow over and over, turning it into an "okonomiyaki" (savory pancake) (laughs).
Shisho: At the time, I heard that since one-third of your life is spent sleeping, it's worth investing in. So I tried buying an expensive bed and various pillows, but I don't really remember the ones I used before. Now, I've been using Brain Sleep all the time.
Q: If you have any favorite features after using Brain Sleep products, please share them.
Oyakatasan: Of all the pillows I've used, Brain Sleep never gets hot. My head, the back of my head, never gets hot. I think that's amazing.
Shisho: It's designed to release heat easily, isn't it?
Oyakatasan: Also, it has different firmness on each side, which is great. The pleasant sinking feeling has just the right amount of rebound.
Shisho: The height is also different on the top and bottom, right?
Oyakatasan: So you can change it up in various ways.
Shisho: You chose the "High" pillow height, didn't you?
Oyakatasan: When I'm working out, my shoulder muscles and back get bigger, so when I lie down, my neck drops. That's why "High" is good when I'm training.
Shisho: Also, just like with saunas, hydration is incredibly important, isn't it? Since I saw Oyakatasan keeping a glass of water next to him when he sleeps, I've tried to imitate that.
Oyakatasan: I keep it there! Always by my bedside! Brain Sleep Water is easy to drink. It's a bit different from regular water and it tastes good.
Shisho: I drink it up to this line before bed, and up to this line in the morning.
Oyakatasan: So that's how you drink it. It's easy to understand.
Q: Please tell us if you've noticed any changes in your sleep after using Brain Sleep.
Oyakatasan: Before using it, I would still feel tired even after waking up, but that's gone. I started waking up and immediately tackling tasks on my bed, doing that more often. I feel like I've been using my mornings more effectively.
Shisho: I used to be a night owl, but now I can effectively use my mornings, or rather, I can be "on" from the morning, so I can handle a certain amount of work without dragging it out until the evening. The quality of my sleep has improved, and on top of that, we have morning saunas.
So the combination is great! I go to the sauna at night to regulate my autonomic nervous system, go to sleep right away, and wake up feeling great. Then I add a morning sauna on top of that. It really feels like I'm living twice as much as a normal person!
Q: Are there any people you would recommend Brain Sleep to?
Oyakatasan: I really want all sauna enthusiasts to use it.
There are people who tell me that saunas have improved their physical and mental well-being, and they say it's all thanks to me. So I think, "Let's make these people even better!" (laughs)
Shisho: "There's this too!" (laughs)
Oyakatasan: For sauna enthusiasts, I want them to experience how saunas improve their sleep onset and how wonderful it feels to sleep after a sauna.
Shisho: What you can do in a sauna is pretty much determined by the sauna room itself, right? It's not about "driving" the relaxation, but rather how you manage your life outside the sauna to enhance that relaxation. There's a rhythm to how you arrange your life, isn't there?
When I learned about Brain Sleep, I heard from various sources that successful businesspeople were using it. These people choose Brain Sleep even when staying in luxury hotel suites, so in a way, I see it as an ultimate destination and that's why I use it.
Oyakatasan: If you gave it to your employees, sales might go up.
Shisho: Productivity would increase, that's great!
Q: Brain Sleep products used by Totono-e Oyakatasan and Sauna Shisho-san.
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